Sword Art Online : RWBYization
by lightningwhite24
Summary: What if the world Kazuto dived into using the Soul translator wasn't the underworld. What if instead it was the world of Remnant. After getting attacked by a ghost from his past in the Real world Kazuto ends up trapped in the world of remnant and if he want's to find his way out of this world. He'll have to fight his way out. (Sorry i'm bad at summaries)
1. Chapter 1: Remnant

In front of a house on the island of Patch just off the coast of the kingdom of vale. It was a peaceful scene. The birds were chirping. The wind was blowing and it was quiet in general. That was of course until a gunshot rang out before a loud battle cry. The gunshot came from a girl dressed in black and red who had used her highly customisable high impact sniper scythe to launch herself in the air for an aerial attack. The attack was blocked by another person. Dressed in a black coat and wielding two swords. Both of which where one handed longswords. One was black and had a circular handguard with spikes while the other was blue but more resembled a regular longsword. He raised these swords and crossed them to block. This was one of his most useful defensive skills. He had named it cross block. He then used the swords to knock the girl back a few feet before going on the offence himself. This time was different however. This time the blades began to glow. He placed his left sword behind his head and held the right out in front of him. He then launched himself forward slashing with the left sword. The girl raised her scythe to block the first hit. The guy didn't stop however quickly slashing again with the right swords attack connecting and hitting her chest but as expected that area of her chest began to glow before the attack could hit stopping it from dealing any real damage. However the attacks didn't stop there as the black swordsman's next hit connected. The red reaper managed to raise her scythe to block the fourth and fifth slashes that where alternating from both his swords but the sixth,Seventh and eighth slashes all connected. The girl was sent flying from the combo attack but managed to flip an restand herself. Red lines crackled over her body. She glared at him, silver eyes burning. She repositioned herself. She placed the head of the scythe behind the sniper part of her weapon and prepared to launch herself forward. The swordsman responded in kind. Leaning his body slightly forward while moving his arms behind him. The two then charged at each other. As they got closer they both began to attack with their weapons. The girl swung her scythe from above while the boy stabbed upwards with his right sword. The attacks were about to connect before a voice stopped the two

"Hey that's enough, You two know to stop when one of your auras hit the red!" A voice called

The two combatants stopped their attacks inches away from connecting with each other. The scythe inches from the boys neck and the sword around the same distance from the girls head. The two stopped their attack and took their weapons away from each others heads before the girl looked at the who had interrupted and groaned. "Dad , come on i almost had him" She complained

"Your aura being in the red and his just barely above yellow is not what I'd call even ." A blonde girl laughed. "What do you think dude?" She asked the boy

The boy chuckled before sheathing the swords into the two holders on his back. He stood up straight and looked at the girl in front of him before looking at the girl on the sidelines. "I dunno Yang that one was pretty close." He replied honestly. "Ruby's definitely getting better. Heck soon she'll be so good i won't be able to keep up"

"Aw thanks. It's nice to know that at least you believe in me Kirito" Ruby smiled

The black haired boy named Kirito smiled back. He was around Fifteen. The same age as Yang. He wore a flowing black coat. The shoulders of said coat where a grey colour. He had a few belts across said coat that where coloured blue . The whole coat had a similar blue outline. He wore a pair of black fingerless gloves and a pair of black boots. The fact he enjoyed wearing black so much had lead to yang jokingly nicknaming him the black swordsman.

"But what was that skill you just used?. I've never seen it before" Ruby asked. An excited smile on her face

"I call it crimson splash. It's an eight hit skill that's designed for high speed. I made it specifically to counter you actually. I figured if I was gonna beat you then i needed to be able to out pace your scythe" Kirito explained

"Your semblance is definitely strange for sure letting you use those sword skills of your's but its so awesome at the same time" The guy standing next to Yang told him. The man was Taiyang. Ruby and Yang's Dad. He had become a sort of mentor to Kirito just as he had to Yang when teaching them. He had also helped Kirito come up with the designs for his swords.

"I don't know about awesome. The fact that i have to charge up before using it and i'm also left open after using one. It's gonna be a real problem on the battlefield" Kirito pointed out

"You have a point. If someone knows how you fight it'll make you predictable too" Tai mused

"But you have to have noticed that the more you use a skill the less time it takes to charge up and recover from. Heck earlier in a duel you flowed from one skill into another" Ruby pointed out

"She's right and those were the first two skills you came up with" Tai realised

"So maybe your skills work like video game skills and get better the more you use them" Yang suggested

"Maybe.. I hadn't thought of that yet" Kirito said thoughtfully

"So that means we've gotta fight each other again right?. You know to level up your new Crimson splash?" Ruby asked excitedly

"Calm down. Maybe once you're less exhausted and your auras back-up" Kirito chuckled while ruffling the younger girls hair

"But i wanna fight now!" Ruby pouted. A disappointed look on her face

"Relax rubes how about i spar with you after dinner" Yang suggested

"Ok. I haven't sparred against you in so long" Ruby cheered

"That's true" Yang chuckled " Maybe you'll actually make me use my semblance this time"

"I don't know Yang even i haven't reached that point" Kirito chuckled

"Yeah well i can kick your butt so who knows" Ruby taunted

"Didn't you just lose to him?" Yang Deadpanned

"Three times in a row actually" Ruby muttered upset

"Hey don't worry little red. You'll beat me someday. Who knows maybe your semblance will be so cool it makes mine look pathetic" Kirito told her

"You think so?" Ruby asked

"Sure i do. Like i said your improving quickly. Your gonna go far kid" The black swordsman replied

"Anyways i better go and get dinner started. You wanna help me kiddo?" Tai asked the Red Reaper

"Okay" Ruby agreed before running into the house

"You need us to do anything to help out Tai?" Kirito asked

"I think me and Ruby have got this. You and Yang should stay out here and get some more training done. After all Beacon is only two years away" Tai told them before walking into the house

Kirito watched the man as he left. The swordsman owed him a great deal . One day he woke up in a was lost and couldn't remember anything. Being the lost kid he was he ended up nearly getting killed by a creature of grimm that he now knew to be an ursa. Luckily Ruby and Yangs uncle Qrow had found him just before the thing killed him. He then took him back to Tai's house and Tai took him in. He had been living with the family ever since. Ruby and Yang had been confused at first but eventually he befriended the two of them and things just became normal. Not to say that was easy though, At Least with Ruby. It took a long time for her to even talk to him and he still wasn't sure that she had fully warmed up to him. His experience with Qrow had been what had inspired him to become a huntsma. He even chose to become a swordsman from him seeing Qrow use his weapon in it's sword form. He was dragged out of his thoughts by Yang dropping a training dummy down in front of him.

"You ready to break another one of these" Yang chuckled lightly punching the dummy

"I don't want Tai to kill us. How long did the last one hold up for before we broke it again" Kirito smirked

"About five hours and what's this we stuff about. You were the one who let out your first four hit skill on it. That skill absolutely destroyed the thing" Yang shot back

"Right , Right" Kirito responded while scratching his cheek

"Anyways you ready to try and level up those skills of yours?" Yang asked

"You think Ruby was right about how my skills are getting better the more I use them?" Kirito questioned

"She could be. We won't know until we try, Right?" The blonde brawler responded nonchalantly

"I guess you're right. Alright here's the plan. I want you to time how long it takes from me getting into stance to the skill actually coming out. We'll do it once each day and see if there's a noticeable improvement" Kirito told her

"Got it" Yang Nodded taking the stop watch from around her neck and preparing to start the timer

Kirito then got into his stance leaning forward slightly and having both his swords angled downwards behind him. The swords skill then began to charge up indicated by his swords glowing. Not even a second later he dashed forward and slashed his right sword upwards to the left before quickly raising his sword in his left hand above his head and slashing down to the left. The dummy thankfully withstood the hits but the impact completely knocked it over. Kirito looked towards Yang who was just looking at the stop watch like she couldn't believe it.

"That was Double Circular right?" She asked. The swordsman nodded in response "Dude your not gonna believe this. That skill took a fourth of a second to start. It used to take at least three seconds."

"No way!.Your serious?" The swordsman asked

"Looks like Ruby was right. your skills do get better the more you use them" The brawler confirmed

"Good to know. I told you she was special. She figured something out from one fight that I didn't realize in having my semblance for a whole year." Kirito chuckled

"Of course she's special. Have you seen how good she is with that scythe of hers. Give her a few years and she could mop the floor with the both of us." Yang agreed

"I know. The only reason i could keep up is because of my reaction time. If it wasn't as good as it is I wouldn't of been able to block half the hits I did during that fight. I dread to think what'll happen if her semblance turns out to be something that makes her go even faster" Kirito mused

"Qrow definitely taught her well." Yang nodded

"Qrow huh." Kirito said to himself

"You still want a rematch" Yang chuckled

* * *

One year ago…..

Kirito didn't think that winning the first year tournament would be that difficult. At Least he hadn't after the first few rounds. He had blazed through them. Not even the overconfident Cardin Winchester had been able to slow him down. Kirito had broken down his aura with just two attacks. That had been in the semi-finals and all his hard work had led up to his match against Yang. Yang had been his training partner for years before going to signal and now they were at the end of the first year and they were facing off. Kirito was obviously prepared for a challenge. The fight had begun fifteen minutes ago and the two had only been able to chip away at each others aura since the beginning of the fight. Kirito hadn't been able to land any solid hits through Yang's defence whereas Yang hadn't been able to hit him due to him dodging all her hits. Kirito stared at his opponent and waited for her to make a move. Both of their aura's where in the Yellow and one more hit on either of them would surely drop it into the red. Both combatants where frozen on opposite end of the arena. Each waiting for the other to make a move. Even the audience was dead tension throughout the entire fight had been so thick not even a knife could cut through it. Eventually however Yang smirked and used her Gauntlets to launch herself at Kirito hoping to end it with one final blow. This however had been the opening Kirito had been waiting for. As Yang drew closer Kirito dashed to the side causing her to miss her punch. Kirito quickly followed up with a downward slash from his right sword. Yang had turned around to block but that's when kirito pulled down a trigger under the handguard of his right sword causing a wave of ice to launch from the sword and freeze her in place. Kirito then followed up with a slash from his left sword pulling the trigger on it as well igniting the blade in flames. The hit connected shattering the ice that Yang was trapped in and sent her flying towards the wall and in turn breaking her aura.

"Stop!. Yangs aura has been broken so that means the winner of this years first year tournament is Kirito!" Taiyang announced

The audience erupted in cheers as the fight winner was declared. Kirito let out a few deep breaths while taking in the fact that the fight was over. He then remembered the girl he had just beaten and walked over to her. He held out a hand to help her up which the girl gladly took,

"That was one hell of a fight" She told him

"No kidding that could've gone either way at the end there" Kirito agreed

"I think it could've gone either way during the whole fight"She observed "You named that new skill you used at the end there?" Yang asked

"Yeah i call it double circular. It's the fastest skill I had" He admitted while rubbing the back of his neck

"Congratulations to both of you. It was a great fight" Taiyang congratulated walking over

"Thanks Tai" Kirito nodded

"Well Kirito you won. So you get to pick a member of staff to spar against." The elder Xiao long reminded Kirito Who's your pick?" Tai asked

Kirito didn't even need to think about his answer. His eyes darted around the room looking for his opponent and then he found him. The figure stood in a corner. A flask containing some form of alcoholic drink in his hand. His red eyes looking directly at Kirito. He caught Kirito's gaze before chuckling and taking a sip from his flask.

"I wanna fight Professor Branwen" Kirito announced confidently

This caused the members of the audience to whisper excitedly to themselves. Professor Branwen or as he was known to many others, Qrow Branwen , was the combat teacher at signal. Not many knew how good he actually was but they knew one thing and that was that his lessons where brutal. So seeing someone actually challenge the guy might as well have been a death sentence to them. But not to Kirito. Kirito had wanted this fight ever since Qrow had saved him in the woods. Qrow finished taking a drink from his flask before responding.

"Your on kid, But don't think i'll go easy on you." The Professor Responded

"Don't worry old guy. I'll try not to hurt you too bad" Kirito shot back

"Ha. Your good at before fight trash talk kid i'll give you that. Meet me back here in half an hour" Qrow told him

Kirito just nodded as he watched the Professor walk away. He then sighed before turning and facing Yang who was looking at him like he was crazy. Tai was also giving him the same expression. Come to think of it, everyone in the room kinda was

"What?" The swordsman asked concerned

"Are you kidding. You're gonna fight uncle Qrow." Yang said with wide eyes "You haven't even recovered from our fight yet"

"I'll be fine. What's the worst that can happen " Kirito chuckled

"Kid. I am sorry for what's about to happen to you" Tai told him with a knowing smile on his face

"Im screwed aren't I?" Kirito asked. Tai being Qrow's old teammate meant he knew how the old man fought best of all. So if he thought Kirito was in trouble then it came from a good source

"In every sense of the word" Yang laughed

"Well if I die it was nice knowing you all" Kirito chuckled. A nervous smile on the swordsman's face

* * *

Kirito stood in the center of the arena. It had been around twenty-nine minutes since Qrow had gone to prepare. His eyes closed tuning out all sounds from around him. His thoughts focused on one goal defeating qrow "Alright from how i've seen Qrow fight before there are two ways i can begin." He thought to himself, "If he starts on the offence then I should easily be able to cut him off with Cross Block and catch him off guard but if he doesn't and he goes on the defense then i should start with double circular to close the gap and then try and transition into another skill. Either way if i predict his moves wrong just once it might as well be over right there and with someone as skillful as Qrow predicting his moves is gonna be difficult but it's my only chance"

He was snapped from his thoughts from the door in front of him opening. He could hear footsteps from within and eyed the door intently. Eventually Qrow casually walked out of the door doing his normal drunken walk. Kirito wouldn't be deceived though. He knew it was an act to get his guard down... or at least it could have been, it was hard to tell with Qrow sometimes.

"You sure you want to do this Kid. You can still back out if you want to" Qrow offered. A confident smirk present as he reached for his weapon

"No chance Old man, I've been waiting for this for a long time and i'm not gonna back down now" Kirito shot back with a smirk of his own.

"Alright then your funeral. Such a shame since i helped you avoid it the first time " Qrow chuckled.

Qrow then drew the sword that was placed on his lower back from it's hilt. The gray blade was an intimidating sight. Even for Kirito. The black swordsman responded by reaching for his twin blades that where on his back and drawing them. "Time to Choose, It's now or never".

Qrow simply stood in a neutral stance. His sword in his right hand angled towards the ground. Kirito breathed heavily before. He got into a stance. He leant forward and angled his arms downwards his swords angled behind his back. Both combatants stared each other in the eyes trying to figure out what the other was planning.

"Alright. Standard rules. Stop when one of your Aura's hit the red. Is that clear?" Taiyang asked to which both combatants nodded "Ok then. Begin!" He declared

As soon as he was given the all clear Kirito Launched himself forward. He raised his right sword and slashed upwards to the left. Qrow had predicted this move however and raised his sword to blocked the first slash "Dammit!" Kirito thought to himself before quickly raising his left sword above his head and slashing down to complete double circular which Qrow blocked easily. Qrow took full advantage of the small delay after Kirito used his skills and slashed at Kirito. One slash was all it took to launch Kirito across the arena and into a wall. Kirito groaned in pain as he stood back up. He quickly gazed at the monitor and noted that his aura had dropped into the yellow from just one attack. He didn't have time to properly process the information before Qrow was already on top of him. Kirito jumped left to avoid Qrows stab before quickly raising his swords to block a down slash from Qrow. However Qrow's eyes widened as he saw Kirito's swords glowing. Kirito smirked before using Qrow's momentum against him and launching him back to the middle of the arena. Cross Block was a useful skill with one of it's best points being he didn't have to get into a stance before using it. Kirito charged forward his swords glowing once again he spun himself around and slashed at Qrow with his right sword. Qrow blocked one again however this attack was a lot stronger than Kirito's previous one and knocked his sword out of the way before slashing sideways again with his left sword. The hit connected successfully causing Qrow to be knocked back. This skill was another one of Kirito's two hit skills. He called this one End Revolver. Kirito quickly glanced at the monitor again and noticed that it barely did anything to Qrow's aura. "Dammit at this rate there's only one skill i have that can do enough damage to win this, but i've never tested it against another person before. But it's the only move i've got" The Black Swordsman thought to himself. He quickly got into the stance for another skill. This one took longer than his others to charge up however. Qrow rushed in prepared to get a free hit on the swordsman. His attack was about to connect when Kirito unleashed the skill. It started with one downward slash from the right sword. Qrow slashed upwards meeting the first slash of the skill. Kirito then slashed down quickly with his left sword, Qrow had learned from the last skill however and jumped back to avoid the second slash. "Gotcha" Kirito thought to himself and launched himself towards Qrow. Qrow had thought the skill was over after the second hit and was caught off guard when the skill continued for a third downward strike which managed to connect followed by a fourth slash of the same kind. Qrow jumped back to give himself some distance from the Black Swordsman. He stared at Kirito for a second before chuckling

"Well kid. You got me there. A four parter?. That's gotta be a first" The teacher chuckled

"It was my best shot and yeah it's new. I broke one of Tais practice dummies the first time I used it though. I call it Countless Spike" Kirito explained

"Not bad kid but it's time we end this!" Qrow declared a serious look suddenly appearing on his face before charging

Kirito and Qrow charged at each other. Qrow was moving a lot faster than he was before. It caught Kirito off guard. Kirito pulled the trigger of his right sword and slashed before he made contact with Qrow. The wave of ice that emerged from the blade froze one of Qrow's feet causing the huntsman to Almost trip. Kirito then jumped in the air and pulled the trigger of his left sword igniting the sword before he slashed with it. The wave of fire hit Qrow causing a large dust cloud to be kicked up around the Huntsman. However the Huntsman wasn't out of the fight yet. Kirito hadn't even landed from his jump when Qrow burst out from the dust cloud and slashed The Black Swordsman in the chest. The resulting impact sent Kirito flying into the wall. Creating a Kirito shaped dent in the wall. The boy slid down to the ground and groaned in pain. He glanced up and saw his Aura was in the red.

"Stop!. Kirito's aura has hit the Red which means Professor Branwen takes the match" Tai announced

Kirito just sat there and soaked in the information. He had lost. Sure winning was next to impossible but Kirito had seriously thought that he could do it. He was snapped out of his thoughts by a shadow falling over him. He looked up and he saw Qrow outstretching his hand. Kirito took the hand and Qrow pulled him up. "That was a good match kid. I definitely underestimated you" The older huntsman told him

"How did you recover from that ice attack so fast?. I thought that would have stunned you for way longer?" Kirito Questioned

"Simple, when you launched the fire attacked i moved so it hit the ice and let me get free. Sure I still took the hit but it let me get the win" Qrow explained

"Great, looks like I've still got a long way to go" Kirito sighed

"Don't worry about it kid. Maybe if you win the second year tournament you'll get another shot. Until then maybe think about getting more the one charge for the dust features on your swords" Qrow advised walking away as he did so

* * *

"Food smells great Dad" Yang complimented as She and Kirito walked into the house "What's for dinner?"

The House was pretty spacious for what looked like a cabin on the outside and it was emphasised by the size of the kitchen. The fact that the room had enough space to cook and for the dining table showed this off best.

"The famous Xiao-long curry of course" Tai explained not looking up from what he was doing

"Great im starved" Yang groaned with an exhausted look on her face

"Well why don't you two go and ditch your combat gear and wash up and i'll call you two when dinners ready? " Tai suggested "How did training go by the way. Any idea if Rubes' theory is correct?"

"It looks like it. Double circular comes out way quicker than it did back at the end of our first year at signal." Kirito explained

"That's great. It's another way for you to hone your skills." Tai observed

"You ok if i take the shower first Kirito?" Yang asked the swordsman

"No worries, i wanna check something out online anyways" Kirito told her

* * *

Kirito sat quietly in his room scrolling through the internet. Tai had been kind enough to give him the spare room of the house. He had taken off his coat,The item in question was now hanging on the back of the door and was now just wearing a plain black shirt and a pair of black jeans. The family dog, Zwei , was asleep on the bed behind him. Snoring quietly. Kirito took a sip of his coffee as he scrolled through articles. He did this alot. Read articles about new weapon parts , New training equipment or awards being given to various huntsmen. If he was going to be the best Kirito had figured he had to know as much as possible. He stopped scrolling when he noticed an article that related to Patch. It was talking about how Grimm activity had apparently increased by thirty percent in the last week on the island with no known cause. Tai had actually briefly mentioned this to him earlier and how he had to leave on a mission tomorrow. Kirito red the article and observed that increased seismic activity had attracted the grimm. It was a dumb theory in Kirito's mind. The only thing that was confirmed to attract the Grimm where negative emotions. He was about to click off when there was a knock at the door.

"It's open!" He called

The door opened and Yang walked in. She wore her typical bed wear and was holding a plate of food "Figured you'd want some food since you forgot to come down earlier" She told him placing the plate and cup on his desk

"Thanks. Sorry i guess i got distracted" The black swordsman let out and embarrassed chuckle

"What was distracting you enough to ignore food, Especially dad's cooking?" The older girl asked

"This actually. Check it out. The amount of grimm activity on the island has increased a lot in the last week" Kirito told her

"Why has that got you interested. Grimm rates fluctuate all the time?" Yang asked confused

"You know how Tai is leaving on a mission tomorrow and he said it's related to a lot of Grimm. I'm pretty sure this is what he's dealing with, but what's really bothering me is the cause they blame it on. Increased seismic activity?. Something about that seems off. Grimm don't usually worry about earthquakes. I think something biggers going on" Kirito told her

"I think you're overthinking it. Whatever it is i'm sure the huntsmen have got it covered" Yang told him

"Maybe" Was the swordsman's only reply "Anyways thanks for the food. I'm gonna eat then head to bed." Kirito explained

"Got it and don't stay up to late. I want to get some early morning training in tommorow" The brawler told him

"yes ma'am" Kirito saluted

* * *

Tai had gotten the three younger residents of the house up early the next day, He was leaving earlier so he wanted to give them one of his famous briefing's that he regularly gave before he left

"Alright. I'm heading out. Are you guys sure your gonna be ok?" Tai asked. Tai wasn't usually overprotective and even when he was, he was usually more worried about something getting broken

"Dad we'll be fine." Ruby told the elder Xiao long

"Alright, Alright" The man chuckled. Smiling at his youngest daughter "Oh and Kirito's in charge" He added quickly

"You got it boss" Kirito mock saluted with a smile on his face

"What, why him?" Yang asked confused

"Because he's the least likely to break a window out of you three" Tai pointed out

"But he broke the training dummy" Ruby argued

"You and Yang broke the tv" He countered. The two girls immediately stopped arguing after that and Tai chuckled to himself. "Alright i'll see you all later"

"Later tai" Kirito waved

"Stay safe" The elder Xiao Long looked around the house one more time making sure everything was in order before exiting the house,closing the door behind him.

"Hey Kirito do you think i can fight you again today?" Ruby asked the swordsman hopefully

"Sure kid, I got something i wanna try out today so I'm more than willing to take you on. As long as you're prepared to lose that is" Kirito agreed

"No way you're going down this time" Ruby countered before running outside

* * *

The Huntsman and Huntresses in training stood outside the house preparing for training, The process was normal at this point. They had done it regularly for a few years at this point. Although Ruby had only joined them recently. Kirito and Ruby where stood on opposite ends of the houses garden getting ready to fight each other

"Alright you guys know the rules already right?" Yang asked

"Ugh, Yang of course we know them, You've only explained them a hundred times" Ruby groaned

"Alright Rubes down. Yang chuckled

"Before we start fighting i actually wanna change things up a bit this time" Kirito told them

"What do you mean?" Yang asked

"Now that we know that my skills get better the more I use them. I want to try and integrate them into my fighting style more. So in this fight. I'm only allowed to attack with skills. Got it?. If I use any attack that isn't a skill or i use my swords dust features outside of a skill, I lose" Kirito told them

"Ok sure, I'll keep an eye out for that. Anyways are you guys ready?" Yang asked. The Swordsman and the Reaper quickly walked to opposing sides of the area. Kirito unsheathed both of his swords from his back while Ruby unfolded Crescent rose. Both combatants had a focused look on their faces as they tried to figure out what the other would do. "Allright go for it!" Yang yelled

Kirito immediately launched forward both his swords glowing he closed the gap between the two fighters. Ruby quickly slashed in an arc with crescent rose. Kirito was forced to cancel his skill by the defensive attack and had to block the the hit. The scythe hit hard against the his sword knocking him back a few feet. Ruby kept up the offensive and slashed downwards with her scythe. Kirito crossed his swords quickly triggering cross block and used it to block the attack, He then quickly pushed the Red Reaper back and triggered another skill. He quickly slashed down with his right sword before slashing across with his left. The first hit connected but Ruby quickly jumped back to avoid the second. Kirito smirked at this however and quickly pulled the trigger under his sword launching an ice attack at Ruby. Her eyes widened as the attack connected freezing her feet to the ground. "It's now or never" The swordsman thought to himself. He quickly got into stance and his swords began to glow indicating that the skill was charging. Ruby eyes went wide as she desperately tried to free herself from the ice. It wasn't long however until Kirito launched himself forward. His left sword raised to attack. Ruby reacted by firing at Kirito with Crescent Rose. His aura protected him from any real damage but the shot caught his leg causing the swordsman to trip over. He quickly stood up and re-positioned himself The two stood silent trying to figure out the others next move.

Before anything could continue a loud screech echoed through the tree's. The two immediately stopped their fight and looked in the direction of the screech. The huntsman and huntresses looked at each other with worried looks on their faces. "Um guys, What was that?" Ruby asked

"Nothing good i'll tell you that" Yang stated changing ember celica into their gauntlett forms ready for a fight

"There's only a couple of Grimm that could make a screech that loud" Kirito mused

"I don't get it. We've never had a Grimm that large on the island before, only Ursa's and Beowolves" Yang told him "Neither of those make that kind of noise

Tree's began to topple in the distance and the grimm was now heading their way. The ground began to shake under their feet as it approached. The vibrations grew more and more intense as the creature neared. "Ruby get behind me!" Yang yelled. The red huntress tried to move but the ice around her feet prevented her from doing so. Instead she stood her ground , planting the tip of crescent rose into the ground and aiming her sniper at whatever was coming through the tree's. Only a second later a giant creature burst into the garden. It was a scorpion like was pitch black and had white bonelike plates with blood red marking's all over its body. It had two large pincers each larger than an average huntsman and ten blood red eyes. It's most prominent feature however was the bright yellow stinger on its tail. It was a creature of grimm known as a Deathstalker.

"What the hell is a Deathstalker doing here?" Kirito Questioned before raising both his swords

"No idea but we have to hold it off until Ruby can get herself free and get away" Yang explained. Her tone a long way from her normal cheerful tone. Not that it was strange. It was unlikely anyone would be cheerful during a Deathstalker attack. "You ready Kirito?" Yang asked the boy

Kirito didn't have time to respond before the Deathstalker noticed them and then let out a roar. It began to move towards them it's red eyes glowing. Yang punched forward twice with ember celica shooting shotgun shells at it and Ruby fired a shot from crescent rose at the grim. The shots didn't even phase the creature bouncing off the plates on its body. Yang and Kirito where shocked at how powerful the creature was. Yang's gauntlets where often enough to take out beowolves in one or two hits but they barely phased this thing and Ruby's sniper shot's spoke for themselves on how powerful they where. Kirito snapped out of it first and launched himself forward a sword skill already charged. He slashed down the first hit connecting with the creatures bonelike armour. The creature however wasn't harmed by the attack and simply batted Kirito to the side with it's large pincer. The boy was sent flying and smashed into one of the walls of the house. The impact completely shattering his aura

"Kirito!" Ruby cried concerned for her friend. Yang looked at her defeated friend before turning to the creature. She closed her eyes and kept them that way for a few seconds before opening them. Her eyes changing from their normal lilac colour to a bright red. Furious at the creature she thrust her gauntlets behind her and fired using the power to throw herself through the air at the creature. She reached the creature and punched it's back using the force from her launch and another shotgun shell from Ember Celica. The hit cracked the creature's plating causing it to roar in pain. It took a few steps back before looking at Yang. Quick as a flash it used one of it's pincers to pick her up and it started to squeeze. Yang tried to break free punching the pincer multiple times to no avail. Her aura was about to break under the pressure until a bullet tore through the creatures pincer severing it completely. The creature let out a screech of agony as it's pincer and Yang fell to the ground.

It looked at where the bullet had come from and saw Ruby with Crescent Rose still aimed at it. The creature roared and began to move towards the huntress-in-training. Ruby tried to move but her feet where still frozen from Kirito's earlier ice attack. Yang yelled for her sister to move but with the ice around her feet she just couldn't. The creature was right in front of her in no time at all. Ruby looked up at the terrifying creature in fear. The creature roared before raising it's stinger going in for the kill. Ruby flinched and braced for impact. She heard the creature shriek and the sound of footsteps running. She then heard the stinger make impact but it didn't hit her. She opened her silver eyes before having her scared look be replaced with one of horror. The stinger had been stopped by Kirito but it had gone straight into his chest. The boy fell to the ground. The last things He saw were Ruby's worried face and a crow flying out of the tree behind the Grimm.

Until everything instantly went black

* * *

Kazuto woke up with a start. His hand instantly went to his chest, The boy didn't know why but it was like he did it out of some sort of panic. He was breathing heavily and his eyes were wide. He looked around and took in his surroundings. He was still in Rath's lab. Then. For some reason that not even he could explain. A tear fell from his right eye. He couldn't explain it but it felt like he had just, or rather almost lost something very important to him.


	2. Chapter 2: Brand New World

Hi all. I'm just writing this quick authors note at the beginning here to say thank you for the positive reception of the last chapter, This story has been a project of mine for a little while with all the planning out how Kirito will fit into the story of RWBY as well as ideas for what other characters i should bring in which is why I'm so happy that you all enjoyed it. You guys might also be happy to know that i have most of the story planned until the end of volume two so now i just have to write the chapters. Unfortunately I won't be able to update very often. Once every two weeks at the quickest.

So without further adieu enjoy the chapter.

* * *

The Dicey cafe. A small cafe located in Okachimachi, Tokyo. To the normal person the cafe was nothing special and to be honest it really wasn't. However what it had become was a meeting place for Kazuto and his group of friends after the clearing of Sword Art Online. During the time since SAO was cleared the group of friends had met up here multiple times to discuss new raids and celebrate after major victories. All these thoughts went through Kazuto's head as he stood outside the cafe. Taking one last look at the place before leaving for the day.

He had met Asada Shino,Better known as Gun gale onlines best sniper Sinon, and his Girlfriend Asuna Yuuki here recently to discuss the fifth bullet of bullets tournament in GGO and also discuss Kazuto's new part time job working with Rath. Mainly discussing the Soul Translator or STL for short. The new machine Rath has been developing.

The Soul translator was something that bothered Kazuto a lot. To start with the fact that Rath wiped his memories after he used it was his biggest concern. He got that it was for confidentiality but still. It always felt that Kikuoka was hiding something. Like something about the STL's purpose was for more than just gaming or medical purposes. Kazuto honestly felt like he should have refused Kikuoka's offer to test it out. But at the same time it was too interesting not to take him up on his offer.

"Hey Kirito, You in there?" Asuna asked him.

Kazuto snapped back into reality, Realizing that Asada had already left he quickly looked up. "What?. Sorry I zoned out" He apologised.

"Honestly, First falling asleep randomly and now your zoning out more frequently. I don't care what your vitals say i'm worried that this job is affecting your health" Asuna told him.

"I promise you I'm fine Asuna." Kazuto said putting a hand on her shoulder "Just a little tired." Kazuto reassured.

Asuna gave him a worried look before responding "I just want to make sure. You have a tendency to not tell us about your problems" .

"I know. But I promise I'm fine. Just had a long few days is all" Kazuto explained.

It wasn't a complete lie. While it had only been around three IRL days since he last dived into the STL. It had been at least a few years in the World of the STL. Kazuto didn't know much about the ingame world. Only it's name. Remnant. He wasn't even supposed to know the name of it. He only knew it because he overheard someone at Rath mention it.

"Well if you're sure then I'll trust you. Just promise me you'll tell me if something is up ok?" Asuna asked.

"You got it" Kazuto replied.

After that they had began walking home. But the strange thing was that this was the last thing that Kazuto could remember.

* * *

Kirito groaned as he woke up. He opened his eyes slowly and took in his surroundings. He was in an alley. That much he could tell. This was obviously a massive source of concern. Waking up in an alley and not remembering how you got there should worry anyone. Kirito used the wall of the alley to help stand himself up. He didn't recognise the alley. Not that he should but he didn't even recognise the buildings around him. "Where the hell am i" He thought to himself.

He walked towards the exit of the alley. When he finally reached the street he was blinded by the street lights. He stumbled forward, disoriented, before his vision returned. He was in a big city that much he could tell but it didn't look like anywhere in Tokyo that he recognised. Judging by how dark it was Kirito assumed it was late at night. He looked up into the sky and had to do a double take. The sky might be the same but the moon definitely wasn't. One half of it was shattered. Kirito stared in awe at the sight. He had seen it before. Whenever he was in a rath lab it was on one of the monitors that they had so seeing that moon it all but confirmed his suspicions. He was in the STL.

"The hell" he whispered to himself, "What am I doing diving in the STL".

He then noticed a store that was still open towards the end of the street. Figuring heading there to learn where he was would be better than standing in the streets trying to figure it out himself. He began to walk towards the store. Taking in the sights of the city as he went. The place reminded him of the floors in SAO that were based on old European architecture. It definitely wasn't a medieval town though. He could tell that by all the technology he could see. The fact that the store he was heading towards was lit up like it was displayed that pretty well.

Arriving it front of the store Kirito noticed the name of the store above the entrance. From Dust till Dawn.

"Dust?, Why would a store sell Dust" He thought.

He entered the store and briefly took in the surroundings. There was a shopkeeper stood behind a counter. He briefly looked up at Kirito before looking back down at a book he was reading. Kirito looked around and was caught off guard by what the shop was selling. There where multiple brightly coloured crystals on display and there were tubes of to the side containing material of the same colour. "Some kind of jewelry store?" He questioned. Kirito looked over to the other side of the store and saw a books isle. He walked over to it hoping to find an atlas or a history book so he could try and learn about where he was.

To his dismay however he quickly realised that it wasn't books that where there but instead magazines. He mentally kicked himself for making that mistake before beginning to browse the magazines to see if there was anything useful. He looked up briefly and noticed a figure in a red hooded cloak stood in the corner. He was about to speak to them, Maybe ask them where he was before he noticed the door open.

Five figures walked through the door. Four were dressed in black suits with black hats and red tinted glasses. One stood out though, He wore a white suit with black pants and black shoes. He had bright orange hair and his most noticeable feature was his black bowler hat. He was smoking a cigar as he walked up to the counter. The group gave Kirito a bad feeling so he ducked behind one of the displays before watching what played out.

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a dust shop open this late?" The man in the white suit asked.

One of the goons stepped forward and pointed a gun at the cashier. This made Kirito's eyes widen. Thinking quickly he reached towards his back to try and grab his sword before realising he didn't have one. It was an old reflex that went way back to his days of SAO.

"Please just take my Lien and leave" The shopkeeper begged.

"Calm down we're not here for your money." The man reassured "Grab the dust" He ordered.

The goons then began to spread out. Walking around the store and collecting all the dust they could find. One of them began to head towards where Kirito was hidden. Kirito quickly looked around for something to defend himself. He noticed that the guy heading his way had some kind of sword in his hand. It was a dumb idea but if Kirito could some how get it he might be able to fight. Although he would be relying on his own skills with no system to assist him.

Kirito was about to make his move when suddenly one of the goons was sent flying across the store and through the window. Kirito instantly looked over to where the guy was launched from and watched as the goon that was near hIm went to attack the source, The person in the red hood from earlier. As the second goon approached the person moved quickly. So quick it was difficult to see. All Kirito could make out that happened was that they pulled out some sort of weapon and used it to throw him and themselves out of the window. All the other goons rushed out on the command of the leader. Kirito noticed that the two guys that the hooded figure had knocked out had dropped their swords. Not hesitating Kirito dashed out and grabbed both of them. The swords where heavy. Not heavy to the point where Kirito couldn't lift them but they still had a weight to them. Kirito looked out of the store and noticed the figure fighting the goons while the leader just stood there and watched. Kirito walked out of the door and called out to the leader.

"You know good leaders fight with their teammates" Kirito told him.

The guy turned around to face Kirito, He looked at Kirito for a few seconds before speaking "Truly you are the most fearsome of enemies." He chuckled sarcastically to himself "Although not gonna lie to you kid, You would be alot more scary if you didn't have to use my mens swords for your weapons".

"I'm doing my best with what I got. Who the hell do you think you are anyways?. That shopkeepers just trying to make a living?. What gives you the right to go and destroy that?" Kirito asked.

"Oh Kid. My heart bleeds for him it truly does but im afraid im done wasting time with this." The guy laughed as he pointed his cane at Kirito "As for the name. It's Torchwick. But please call me Roman".

Kirito not waiting to see what he was planning dashed forward. Swords raised. Torchwick sighed before raising his cane to block Kirito's downward slash. Kirito expected the sword to easily knock the cane aside but the cane blocked it as if it was a sword "The hell is that thing made of" Kirito thought to himself. Kirito jumped back to distance himself from his opponent before lunging forward stabbing at Torchwick. Torchwick chuckled before aiming his cane at Kirito again and firing something out of the end. Kirito reacted quickly leaning backwards narrowly avoiding the attack. The shot kept going and crashed into a wall of a nearby store blowing a hole in it "That thing is also a gun?. This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder" Kirito thought to himself as he Narrowly blocked an incoming cane swing from torchwick by crossing his swords and catching it between them. What neither of them expected was for the two swords Kirito was holding to beginning to glow. Kirito's arms then moved on their own and pushed Torchwick back causing the crook to stumble a few steps back. "No way. That looked like Cross Block. There's sword skills here?" Kirito thought to himself.

"Well that was certainly unexpected. Well it looks like I underestimated you kid" Roman remarked before dropping his cigar and stomping out the end."But this is where our fun ends" .

Roman then pointed his cane at the person in the red hood and a reticle popped up from the bottom. He grinned at Kirito before pulling a trigger under the top of the cane shooting something at them.

"Look out!" Kirito yelled to them.

The figure saw the shot coming and used her weapon to launch herself into the air. It was only now that Kirito got a good look at the person. It was a girl. That much was obvious, She had black hair, that was around neck length with red highlights. She wore a black and red dress and her most notable trait, Her bright red cape. Her weapon was also somewhere between scary and cool. It was a huge black and red scythe. The thing was way taller than she was and it had a mechanical, almost futuristic, look to it. It was a wonder how she could wield the thing.

The girl landed back on the ground after avoiding Torchwicks gunshot. Kirito looked back at where Torchwick was standing and noticed that he was gone.

"Up there" The girl in red called pointing towards a ladder to the roof of a building.

Both Kirito and the Girl ran towards the ladder. Kirito immediately went to climb the ladder hoping to pursue Torchwick as quickly as he could.

"No time" The girl in Red told him.

The girl in red grabbed the back of his shirt. Before Kirito knew what was happening the girl had already used her scythe to launch both him and herself onto the Roof. "Who the hell is this girl" Kirito thought to himself as they finally reached the roof.

They landed on the roof shortly after the left the ground. The girl landed on her feet having been used to this kind of thing. Kirito did not. After landing on the roof he fell forward straight away. Face planting into the ground.

"Man my head" Kirito groaned as he rubbed his head and got back on his feet Dizzly "Please warn me before you do that".

"Hey" the girl called out to the escaping torchwick ignoring Kirito's complaint.

Torchwick stopped walking after he heard the call. "Persistent." He muttered.

As soon as he finished speaking the wind in the area began to pick up and the sounds of large engines could be heard. It didn't take long for the cause of the noise to reveal itself. A large aircraft flew up in front of Torchwick. Kirito had never seen anything like it. The aircraft was huge way bigger than any plane he had ever seen. Torchwick quickly climbed onto the aircraft's open turned around and looked at the Reaper and the Swordsman who had followed him.

"End of the Line Kids" Torchwick yelled over the aircraft's engines.

Torchwick reached behind him and pulled out a red crystal from behind his back. He threw it down towards them where it landed near Kirito's feet. Torchwick then pointed his cane towards the crystal. Kirito realised what Torchwick was planning on doing as soon as he saw the cane .

"Oh crap . Look Out!" Kirito yelled. Kirito realised too late however and Torchwick fired as soon as Kirito finished speaking. Kirito reacted quickly. The Swordsman dashed in front of the girl and crossed his swords attempting to trigger the skill he used earlier.

Fortunately for him he didn't have to worry about if his plan would work or not as someone jumped down in front of him and shielded him from the attack. The person who shielded them was another person Kirito didn't that he should mind you. She had blonde hair and wore glasses. She had a white shirt with a black pencil skirt. Kirito glanced over at the girl in red and noticed that she was incredibly excited at the newcomers appearance.

The newcomer immediately began attacking the aircraft. She flicked the (What Kirito hoped was a) wand in her hand and summoned six energy constructs which she launched at the aircraft. The attack hit the aircraft but barely made a scratch. It did however scare Torchwick who immediately ran towards the cockpit of the aircraft. A few seconds after another person presumably the pilot of the aircraft took his place. Kirito couldn't make out her face. He didn't know if it was too dark or if it was the distance but he just couldn't. The one thing he could see however where her burning orange eyes.

"You got any idea who that is?" Kirito asked the girl in red next to him.

"Not a clue, I know the other guy was Roman Torchwick but i have no idea who the other huntress is" She explained.

"Yeah I met the other guy personally" Kirito responded grimacing "Huntress?, Some kind of title maybe?. But what the hell are they hunting?" He thought curiously.

While they had been discussing the two now named huntresses had continued fighting. The huntress who had protected them had let out a barrage of different attacks to try and bring the aircraft down while the huntress who had replaced Torchwick did her best to defend it.

"If she brings that thing down here it'll crash into one of the buildings and possibly hurt people. Maybe I can do something to stop them?" Kirito thought to himself.

He was dragged out of his thoughts by the Girl in Red changing her weapon into a form with the blade folded up and a scope that was visible "Oh there's no way" Kirito thought to himself. The girl then aimed at the Aircraft before firing four powerful shots at the Aircraft that reminded him of the bullets that where to be fired from Sinon's Sniper Rifle. "That things also a gun. What kind of place is this" .

The huntress on board the Aircraft simply raised her hand to block the attack. The powerful shots seemingly bouncing off the palm of her hand. Her palm then began to glow as she held it out towards them. Kirito then noticed the ground below him beginning to glow a bright orange colour.

"Aw crap" He thought.

The witch huntress noticed this to however and quickly used her wand to throw both himself and the girl in Red out of the way before jumping back to avoid it herself. Briefly Disoriented. Kirito staggered to his feet as did the girl in Red. He looked up when he heard the engines of the Aircraft begin to grow louder and saw the side of the Aircraft close. The last thing he saw before he did however where the burning orange eyes of the woman on board the aircraft glaring at him. The aircraft flew away from the scene with no one present being able to stop it.

"Dammit" Kirito cursed as he watched it leave.

"That seems like an appropriate Reaction" The Huntress sighed.

"Your a Huntress" The girl in Red stated looking at the Witch. A starstruck look on her face, "Can I get your autograph?" she asked.

"Oh Boy" Kirito sighed.

The Huntress looked at the girl with an annoyed look on her face before speaking. "My name is Glynda Goodwitch i am a teacher at beacon academy. You two are to come with me immediately" She told them. Her voice strict and authoritative.

* * *

(1 Hour Later, Vale Police Station)

Kirito was curious as to how things had escalated as quickly as they had. He had gone from waking up in an alley confused and with no memory of how he got there to making an attempt to stop an armed robbery and then he almost got blown up by some magic 'huntress' or whatever they were called. To say his day had been strange was an understatement. Now here he was at one in the morning. At what he assumed was a police station of some kind waiting to be spoken to.

What kind of questions he would be asked however he wouldn't have to wait long to find out as the door in front of him opened gaining his attention. Through it walked a man Kirito could only describe as strange. Kirito couldn't tell if the man was old or young. His silver hair indicated to Kirito that the man was elderly but his face and posture was that of a younger person. He wore a black suit jacket with a green shirt and green pants. Kirito could only watch as the man walked in with two mugs in his hands and looked at him.

"Well" The man spoke. His voice soft yet powerful. "You certainly are an interesting case my boy". He told Kirito as he sat down across the table from him. He placed both of the mugs in his hands on the table before pushing one towards Kirito "I figured you could use something to drink. I hope you don't mind Hazelnut Latte's" He explained.

This caused Kirito's eyes to widen. Hazelnut lattes where what he ordered at the cafe he and Kikouka met at whenever Kikouka wanted to speak with him and were one of his favourite drinks. "Uh yeah thanks" He nodded before taking the mug "Is it a coincidence or is there more going on here" He thought.

"So how am i interesting" Kirito asked.

"Well let's start with how you are not Registered with any Huntsman academy, Have no record of any form of training and yet you were able to go toe-to-toe with Remnants most well known crime boss." He asked.

"That guy with the orange hair" Kirito asked.

"Indeed. Roman Torchwick is a dangerous criminal and yet you stood up to him bravely. Surely you must have heard of him before" The man asked.

"To be honest I don't know much of anything. I woke up in an alley about two hours ago and i don't know where I am or what im doing here" Kirito explained. He didn't know why he was telling the man this. He just had an aura around him that made him seem trustworthy.

The man took a sip from his mug before speaking "So your telling me you don't remember anything at all, Not even your name" The man asked.

"My name?. My name is …" Kirito Paused at this, What should he say his name was. Names like Roman were particularly English names so judging by that and the architecture of the buildings around him. Those factors didn't exactly scream that his real name would make it easy enough to blend in. So he decided to use the only other name he had. "Kirito" He said "The names Kirito".

"It's good that you at least remember that" The man replied "So tell me Kirito do you know who I am?" .

"Sorry Sir. Not a clue" Kirito responded nervously realising that the man had made the mistake that he had no memories at all. He decided to roll with it anyways as it could make his adjustment to this world easier if people didn't expect him to know everything about this world.

"I suppose its natural. If you don't remember anything else then knowing who I am is a stretch" The man chuckled. "My name is Professor Ozpin. I'm the headmaster of the huntsman academy known as beacon. It's nice to make your acquaintance Kirito" The man smiled.

"Huntsman academy?" Kirito questioned.

"To explain to you the entire history of our world would take quite some time. However to give you an incredibly short version of the story. The huntsman academies were created to train warriors. Warriors who would defend the four kingdoms, Vale, Atlas,Mistral and Vaccuo against the creatures of Grimm" Ozpin Explained.

"Creatures of Grimm?, Some kind of monster i assume?" Kirito questioned.

"Correct. The creatures of grimm are evil incarnate. They care about one thing and one thing alone. Ending our existence. They take many forms but they all share that one objective. The Huntsmen and Huntresses we train hunt these Grimm and protect the people who cannot protect themselves." Ozpin confirmed.

"And i'm guessing that lady. Glynda she said her name was. She's a fully trained huntress?" Kirito asked.

"Professor Goodwitch is indeed a fully trained huntress. She has been a huntress for many years in fact and is one of the best i know. Which is what brings us to why i find you impressive" Ozpin told him.

"What do you mean?" Kirito questioned confused.

The man took a sip from his coffee before responding. "What i mean is many fully trained huntsman and huntresses have had encounters with Roman Torchwick over the years and he has been more than a match for many of them. So you holding your own against him…. Intrigues me. As such I'd like to give you an offer" Ozpin explained.

"What kind of offer" Kirito asked Narrowing his eyes.

"Well Beacon Academies new year is about to start and the entrance exams are currently taking place. There is currently one entrance exam remaining and without your memories you need a purpose. Direction. I'd like to offer you a chance to take this entrance exam. Should you pass then i will gladly take you into beacon academy. Someone with your talent should be able to pass it with flying colours I belive" Ozpin explained.

"Join beacon academy" Kirito said to himself.

The offer took Kirito by surprise. Enter a huntsman academy. He had only been in this world for two hours and this was happening. It made him suspicious. Why would Ozpin give him this chance. Did he know something that Kirito didn't or was he really just impressed with Kirito's skill. Kirito looked at the man's face. His face was unreadable. Kirito couldn't tell what he was thinking no matter how hard he tried. "I guess there's only one way to find out".

"Alright, I'll give it a shot. If you really think I'm ready for it" Kirito told him.

"Oh no you are not ready yet. You will need to train and also get your own weapons and combat gear made. You weren't planning on fighting with swords stolen from Torchwick's goons where you" Ozpin Chuckled.

"I guess not" Kirito agreed.

"But that is an issue for tomorrow. Please wait outside and i will make arrangements for you to stay somewhere until the entrance exam" Ozpin told him while standing up.

"Wait. Why are you doing this?, Why are you helping me?" Kirito asked.

The Professor looked Kirito in the eyes. "Kirito. I believe things happen for a reason and whatever that reason may be you stepped in to face a dangerous criminal with no knowledge at all of what he was capable off or what he had done. That alone makes me believe it is at least worth giving you a chance. Now if you'll excuse me i must go and speak with young Miss Rose." Ozpin told him before walking out of the room. Not looking back as he left.

Kirito watched him go. He was still confused and what he had been told was a lot to take in and he had been told the short version. Huntsman and Huntresses. Evil Creatures named Grimm. Academies that train warriors. Four Kingdoms. The main thing that worried Kirito is how quickly Ozpin had believed what he had said about his memory. He didn't ask any further questions or anything. He believed him far to easily. Kirito made a mental note to be cautious around Ozpin in the future before doing as Ozpin said and leaving the room.

* * *

(30 minutes later)

It was around half an hour later that the Girl in red walked out of the same room Kirito had spoken to Ozpin in. She looked incredibly happy and excited. Walking out behind her was Professor Goodwitch. She looked around for a bit before spotting him.

"We have arranged that you will stay with Miss Rose and her family until your entrance exam. We suggest you use your free time to prepare yourself" Glynda explained to him.

"Of course. Thank you Professor" Kirito nodded.

"Right. Now you and Miss Rose will wait here until your transport back to Patch arrives" Glynda told them. She then turned around and walked back into the room she had just exited leaving Kirito and The girl in the hallway.

The Girl didn't say anything she just walked over and sat down in the seat opposite Kirito. Kirito watched her getting a better look at her now that she wasn't darting all over the place with a massive scythe. "Note to self ask her about that" He thought to himself. He recognised her body language though. It was much like his own back in SAO. She wanted to say something but was to scared to. She was just as socially awkward as he was.

"So did they Grill you about what happened on the roof too?" Kirito asked.

"Uh yeah. Although mine was mainly about how I learned to use my scythe. What about you? what did he ask you about?" She asked.

"Mainly about how I was able to fight torchwick i guess. And i got a brief version of the history of Remnant due to me not knowing anything." He explained.

"What do you mean not knowing anything?" She asked confused.

He hesitated for a few seconds before responding. "I woke up in an alley a couple of hours ago with no idea of where I was or what I was doing there. I ended up in that store by chance" He explained .

"So wait you don't remember anything. Not even your name?" She asked. Her silver eyes wide with concern.

"I do remember that much. My names Kirito and you?" He asked trying to learn more about the girl.

"Im Ruby. Ruby Rose." She told him.

"Ruby huh. Should've figure with all that red" He chuckled.

"Well it's my favourite colour. I try to work it into everything" She laughed .

"So did Ozpin invite you to take the Beacon entrance exam to?" Kirito asked.

"Not exactly" She smiled "I kinda get to skip the exam and got invited straight into beacon" .

"That makes sense" Kirito thought "Judging by how well she could use that scythe of hers she must have had some prior training that lets her skip the entrance exam".

"Excuse me Miss Rose. Mister …. Kirito." A voice said. Kirito turned his head and saw a guy in a police uniform "Your transport has arrived".

"Guess we'll have to continue this conversation later huh" Kirito told her.

"Sure" Ruby Smiled.

They then both stood up and followed the Officer towards the exit. He still had so many Questions. How did he end up in the STL. Why was he in the STL but he had to start somewhere and if these huntsman academies could help him do that. Then he had to get in. No matter what.


	3. Chapter 3 : Adjustment

Kirito groaned as his eyes slowly opened. The room that had been dark not an hour ago was now filled with bright sunlight. He sighed and looked at the ceiling. So much had happened last night that he had fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Waking up in a world you don't recognise and then immediately being thrown into a fight with a crime boss and some kind of magic user was bound to take a lot out of anyone. He sat up and rubbed his eyes before taking in his surroundings. He had barely seen the room he had been given the night before. It was a nice place. There were two beds and a desk with a laptop on it. The room felt strangely familiar. Either way, he was grateful that Ruby's dad was letting him stay here.

* * *

(Flashback. The night before)

"Welp here we are," Ruby said as she and Kirito stepped off of the airship that had transported them.

"Yeah" Kirito muttered "But where exactly is here?" he asked

"Oh, this is Patch the island I grew up on." Ruby explained, "Ozpin did tell you that you're staying with us until we go to beacon right?"

"He didn't but Glynda mentioned it" Kirito muttered

"That's not an issue is it?" Ruby asked worriedly

"No no, it's fine" Kirito reassured "Just wondering why Ozpin didn't tell me"

"Perhaps he didn't know when he was talking to you." She suggested "Anyways come on. My house isn't far from here"

They both then started walking on the path from the Airship dock. They were mostly silent on the walk so Kirito took the time to take in the scenery. Patch was a beautiful place. The green of the forest and the chirping of birds could be heard as they walked. However, if Ozpin was telling the truth, and Kirito had no reason to think he was lying, then these trees hid a dark evil. The creatures that Ozpin had mentioned, the Grimm, were lurking in the shadows. waiting to attack anyone who should pass by. The thought made Kirito shiver. He didn't have the swords he had taken from Torchwicks goons as they had been taken for evidence so the only defence he had was Ruby and that Scythe of hers. Ruby had told him it was called Crescent Rose.

Kirito didn't know what the Grimm looked like but he had gotten a general idea from Ruby. She had described them as evil incarnate. Their eyes an evil red, Their bodies pitch black and they were covered in bonelike armour. Kirito had never seen nor heard of anything like it, Not even in SAO or ALO.

They had been walking for about fifteen minutes before the house finally came into view. It looked like a large wooden cabin. The design was reminiscent of that at least. The yard was large. Wide enough for the combat training he assumed Ruby did often. He couldn't help but notice a gap in the tree line that seemed out of place "What the hell happened there" He thought to himself. It looked like something had charged through it. Knocking down the trees as it went.

"Well this is it," Ruby told him as they approached the door

"It looks like a nice place" Kirito complimented. He wasn't lying either. The place genuinely looked nice. "Why does my chest feel so tight though?" He thought to himself "It almost feels… nostalgic. But I've never been here before… Right?

"Thanks, I think so too. Although I might be biased" Ruby chuckled

Ruby opened the door to the house and Kirito followed her in. The house was cosy to describe it in one word. Judging by the tv and the couch Kirito guessed he was located in the living room of the house. The room had family pictures hanging on the wall. The most noticeable feature was the large green rug that dominated that floor. Kirito was dragged out of his thoughts by a small bark. He then noticed the dog bed in the room and saw a moving figure running up to him.

He looked down and saw what might have been the cutest dog he had ever seen. It was a small black and white corgi who had the absolute dumbest look on his face. Almost like he was smiling. Ruby smiled and bent down to pet the dog.

"This is Zwei" she explained, "Don't worry he's harmless. A bit of a goofball though"

"I can see that" Kirito smiled as he also knelt down to pet the Corgi

"Oh, your back. The kid with you to" A voice called

Kirito looked up and saw a man standing in the kitchen doorway. Judging by his looks he was in his early to late thirties. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore brown cargo shorts and a brown vest over a dress shirt.

"Hey, dad." Ruby Greeted "And yeah he's with me. Kirito this is my dad" She explained while gesturing towards the man

"Hey, there" Taiyang greeted "I'm Taiyang, welcome to my home.'' His tone was cheerful and friendly, He walked over to Kirito and offered him a handshake

"Thanks for letting me stay here sir. I'm Kirito" Kirito responded shaking his hand

"Nice to meet you. And please call me Tai. Sir makes me feel way older than I am" Tai laughed "I set up the spare room upstairs for you. Hope your hungry, Dinner's almost Ready" Tai explained before heading into the kitchen

Kirito was shocked by how kind the man was being. He had been told randomly that some kid was staying at his house and he had done all this for him already. It almost made him uneasy. He was dragged out of his thought by the sounds of footsteps from the upper floor of the house and the sound of someone running down the stairs

"Oh no" Ruby groaned

Before Kirito even had time to ask what she meant, someone appeared at the bottom of the stairs. They looked around the room for a second before noticing Ruby standing there. Tackle hugging her and knocking the girl in red over

"I can't believe my baby sister is going to beacon with me" The person yelled.

Kirito, Tai and Zwei just looked at the scene before looking at each other. Kirito and Tai then promptly burst out laughing and Zwei let out a bark of what could be assumed to be amusement.

* * *

Kirito smiled remembering the night before. He hadn't spoken much after that though just eaten the food that Tai had given him and gone to bed. He could hear the sound of someone cooking in the kitchen. Figuring it must be Tai. Kirito attempted to get out of bed to go talk to him. However, when he tried to move, he felt a strange weight on his feet. He looked over and saw Zwei peacefully sleeping on the end of his bed. Kirito looked at the dog for a few seconds. He knew he should just pick him up and move him but Zwei looked so peaceful just sleeping there. Would it really hurt to just stay there forever?

Fortunately, Kirito's mental debate was settled for him by a knock at the door. This prompted Zwei to wake up and jump off the bed. Slightly upset that Zwei had been moved Kirito turned his attention towards the door just as the person walked in.

"Oh good you're awake," She said

Kirito tried to remember her name. She had been the one who tackled-hugged Ruby last night. She had long blonde hair and lilac eyes. What had Ruby said her name was again.

"Don't tell me you forgot who I am already" She chuckled "It's Yang remember me. Ya know the best looking girl on this side of Vale"

Yang that was it. Kirito had no idea why he couldn't remember that "Yeah sorry. Most things from yesterday are kind of a haze" He apologised

"Eh don't sweat it. Just came to tell you breakfast is almost ready if you want to join us." Yang explained before turning around to leave "And by the way don't take too long. We gotta get you ready for that entrance exam"

Kirito watched the girl exit the room. Zwei followed closely behind her. Kirito sighed before finally getting out of bed. He put on the clothes he had been wearing the day before. He sighed missing the simplicity of changing your outfit in VR. It was as simple as opening your menu and voila. Clothes Changed.

Opting to check the laptop on the desk instead of heading downstairs right away. Kirito flipped open the top and pressed the on button. He hadn't had the chance to read up on the world he was only hearing about it from Ozpin and Ruby so he was hoping he would have the chance now. The laptop booted after a few seconds and came up with a password screen. Kirito raised an eyebrow at this.

"Well shit, there goes that idea" Kirito complained mentally kicking himself for not expecting that.

"Kirito you better come down before I take all the food!" Yang yelled

Deciding to figure it out later. Kirito headed over to the door and exited the room. Heading down the stairs and into the living room. He looked at the tv and saw a report on the Dust shop that Torchwick attacked last night. The criminals escape worried Kirito. Kirito had witnessed the guy blow a hole in a wall with just his cane yesterday and he seemed to be going easy in that fight. Who knows what he'd do if he got cornered by someone trying to catch him.

Shoving the thought to the back of his head. Kirito walked into the kitchen. The first thing he noticed was that something smelled good. Looking around he assumed it was whatever Tai was cooking. Yang was sitting at the table already tucking into her food. Zwei sat down next to her. Hoping to get some of her food.

"Morning Kirito'' Tai said to him briefly looking up "Breakfast is almost ready. Hope you like pancakes"

"Good morning Tai" Kirito greeted as he sat down at the table "And pancakes sound great. Again thanks for letting me stay here"

"It's like I 're a guest. You don't have to thank me" Tai responded kindly

"So are you ready to start training today?" Yang asked before taking another bite of her pancakes. "After all you've only got one week to get weapons and get ready" She added

"I hope so, Although I don't know how I'm gonna find two swords that'll be strong enough to take on the Grimm" Kirito explained

"Two swords you say?" Tai mused as he put a plate of pancakes down in front of Kirito which Kirito eyed hungrily

"Uhh yeah. That's my fighting style. Dual Blades" Kirito explained unintentionally referencing the name of his old unique skill from SAO.

"You got any ideas Dad?" Yang asked noticing the look on her father's face

"Maybe." He said thoughtfully "Kid I'm gonna head out to the shed. Meet me out there once you're done eating" Tai told him as he took off his apron and headed outside through the back door.

"Wonder what's got him so excited?" Yang asked. An eyebrow raised

"No idea. You know him way better than I do." Kirito chuckled. "Wait a second, where's Ruby? He asked noticing the girls absence

Yang's expression changed when Kirito asked from a cheerful to a sad smile. Yang had been happy for almost all the time Kirito had known her so this dramatic shift was noticeable "I think it's better if she tells you. It's kind of personal." Yang explained

"Sorry I didn't mean to intrude" Kirito apologised.

"Don't worry. It's just, it's a delicate topic" Yang explained. "Anyways eat up, You wouldn't want to keep dad waiting would you?" She told Kirito as she got up to wash her plate.

Kirito took this as a cue to start eating. He knew how good Tai's cooking was from dinner last night so he was excited to start eating. As he was about to start eating he heard a small bark from near his chair. He looked down and saw Zwei sitting there patiently almost expectantly. Kirito sighed. He knew he wouldn't be able to deny those eyes for long.

* * *

(30 minutes later,)

Kirito walked out of the house after finishing the pancakes Tai had made for him. Kirito couldn't help but wonder what the older man was thinking but, to be honest, it didn't matter. The fact of the matter was that Kirito needed some way to fight. He was a swordsman at heart and there was no way he was passing the entrance exam with his bare hands. He needed at least one sword whether he liked it or not.

Kirito arrived at the door of the shed. Figuring he should probably knock. He went to do so before he heard a yell from inside the shed. Reacting quickly Kirito opened the shed door and ran in.

"You ok Tai?" Kirito yelled in concern for the elder Xiao-long

"Fine. I finally found them" Tai called back from the back of the shed.

"Them?" Kirito questioned "What the hell is them," he thought to himself

Tai emerged from the back of the shed. The man was covered in dust, the non-weaponized kind, and had a huge smile on his face. "You said you used swords right?" Tai asked

"Umm Yeah. Why? Kirito asked confused as to where Tai was going with this.

"Because I may have just found a solution to your weapon problem" Tai explained excitedly

Tai then reached behind him and pulled out something from behind him. It was a pair of one-handed swords. But these weren't just any swords. They were swords Kirito was all too familiar with. Kirito's eyes widened when he saw them. The first was pitch black from the blade to the grip. The handguard was circular. The blade itself had a grey outline. The second blade was an aqua colour. Though the grip was darker than the rest of the sword. The handle led up to a perpendicular cross guard. At the centre of the crossguard was what looked to be an aquamarine gem. They were or at least were based on, Kirito's old swords from Sword Art Online. The Elucidator and the Dark Repulser.

"Wha... What the fu... Tai, where did you find those" Kirito asked, shocked. He didn't know how to react. These swords had been his weapons of choice during the final months of SAO. Seeing them brought back a whole lot of memories for Kirito and not all of them were good. But most importantly what the hell were they doing here. Had Kikouka added them for him to find while he was diving in the STL? But that still wouldn't explain why they were in some small shed on a small island in the middle of nowhere.

"I've had em for years. I found them down the side of the house when I was gardening one day. "Tai explained "I've got no idea where they came from or who put them there but I decided to put them in the shed in case a use came up for them and I guess this is it. They're yours if you want them". He offered. Placing the swords down on the workbench.

Kirito looked at the swords. An apprehensive look on his face. Why were they there?. It bothered Kirito to no end. More importantly how. But one fact remained. Kirito still needed weapons for the entrance exam. Kirito sighed knowing what he had to do. Kirito reached down and picked up the swords. As soon as he did he felt an instant wave of nostalgia. They felt exactly the same as they did in SAO. Only he noticed triggers underneath the crossguards that definitely weren't there before.

"Hey Tai what are these triggers for?," Kirito asked curiously

"For the swords dust feature, I'd presume. You know what dust is right?" Tai asked

"I'm gonna go ahead and assume it's whatever the hell lets Ruby's scythe also be a gun" Kirito guessed

"Almost. Ruby's scythe can turn into a sniper rifle because of the way she built it. The ammunition for it is dust based though." Tai explained

"So these things are also guns?" Kirito asked

"In a nutshell yeah. You'll have to get Ruby to have a look at them when she gets back. That girl is one of the best when it comes to weapons" Tai told him "So they look good to you?"

Kirito hesitated for a second. Before smiling "Yeah, They look great to me. Thanks, Tai." Kirito responded.

"Don't thank me yet. The hard part comes next. Are you ready to start training?" Tai asked

"You bet" Kirito nodded attempting to sheath the swords on his back before realising he didn't have anything to hold them in. Earning a chuckle from Tai.

"Sorry force of habit …. I think" Kirito explained

"Looks like we'll have to go gear shopping at some point as well huh" Tai chuckled

"Seems like it" Kirito agreed

"Well, time to get training, Hope you're ready kid. I won't go easy on you." Tai told him

Kirito was worried about what Tai meant by that. But surely it wouldn't be that bad right?.

* * *

It was very soon after they started training that Kirito learned that it wasn't that bad. It was way worse than he thought. Tai's idea of training, at least the first part, Largely centred around Tai relentlessly trying to kick the crap out of Kirito while Kirito had to block and dodge as much of it as he could. Needless to say, this led to a lot of pain on Kirito's part in the early stages as he was not used to fighting someone who focused on hand to hand combat using swords.

Luckily he was a quick learner though. Years of fighting mobs on the floors of SAO had given Kirito somewhat of a sixth sense for noticing attack patterns. Allowing him after about an hour to finally get some idea of Tai's fighting style. The only thing left to do was to put his knowledge to the test.

"Alright kid you sure I haven't kicked the crap out of you enough" Tai taunted

"Nah I'm good" Kirito responded "Give me your best shot old man"

Tai smirked before darting forward. Kirito quickly got into a stance standing up straight, Both his swords held in his hands angled toward the ground. As Tai got in close. He threw a powerful left hook at Kirito. Kirito jumped back to avoid it but Tai was quick to keep attacking and tried to hit Kirito with a roundhouse kick. Kirito crossed his sword blocking the hit. This allowed cross block to trigger. Blocking Tais hit and launching him back a few feet. Tai threw another punch at Kirito which Kirito leaned to the side to avoid.

Kirito's plan was working and Tai was growing visibly more frustrated. Tai ran at Kirito again. Kirito got into the same stance. Ready to block the hit. Tai smirked at this and jumped as he neared Kirito. He jumped over Kirito and threw a punch at the back of the boy's head. What surprised him was that the blade met Dark repulsors blade. Kirito had Put the blue blade behind his back to block the hit. Kirito then span around and slashed at Tai. The man's Aura shielded him but the hit did knock him to the side a few feet.

Tai looked shocked for a few seconds before bursting out laughing "Oh man kid. You learn fast." Tai complimented "I didn't expect you do get that good that fast"

"It's nothing, it's just that I'm good at noticing patterns," Kirito responded. Rubbing the back of his head nervously. "By the way Tai. What happened when I hit you with Elucidator. I know you huntsmen have some kind of force field but what is it?" The black swordsman asked curiously

"Elucidator? You named it already" Tai chuckled "Also what do you mean what happened. You do know what aura is right?" he asked

"Sorry, no clue. No memories remember" Kirito told him

He hated that lie. That he couldn't remember anything. But it was necessary. What else was he supposed to tell them "Oh hi. I'm from a different world and by the way, you're all in a simulation". They'd probably lock him up for being crazy.

"Well this is probably gonna take some explaining," Tai told him. Dragging the boy out of his thoughts. "First up Aura is basically a manifestation of who we are. Our personalities, Our fears. It all fuels our aura. Some say our Aura is a physical manifestation of our souls. Aura is a huntsman's most invaluable tool. It shields us from damage and it fuels our semblances" Tai explained

"Semblances?" Kirito questioned

"Kind of like a superpower that's unique to the individual. Some say one's semblance is an extension of their personality. Not sure how yours applies to that though" Tai chuckled

"What do you mean mine?" Kirito asked

"Your swords glow. Not everyone's weapons do that." Tai laughed

"So my semblance lets me use sword skills," Kirito thought to himself lifting up Elucidator and looking along the blade "Wonder if it lets me do anything else".

It was at the moment that Zwei looked up from the spot in the shade he was lying in and barked. Kirito looked up to see what he was barking at and saw Ruby walking back down the path towards the house. Back from wherever it was that she had gone.

"Welcome back sweetheart," Tai said walking over and hugging his daughter

"Hey dad" Ruby smiled hugging him back "Hey Kirito" Ruby greeted

"Hey Ruby '' Kirito waved back awkwardly.

"How were things Rubes?. You run into any Grimm?" Tai asked breaking the hug

"Eh, only some Beowolves. I took them down easy enough." Ruby explained "What about you? What have you guys been doing?" She asked curiously

"Starting my training mainly" Kirito responded. "Tai found me something that I can fight with so we've been training"

Kirito noticed that Ruby wasn't paying attention to him anymore. Instead, she was eyeing the two swords in his hands. "Your swords look so cool!" She complimented

"Uh, thanks. They are called Elucidator and Dark Repulser" Kirito explained. Those names still felt strange to him. He still had no clue why in the hell they were here but he was kind of glad that they were in a way.

"Actually now Ruby's here. This creates a good opportunity. We know that you can handle yourself at training level combat but what about in an actual sparring match?" Tai asked

"Woah Woah Woah. You want me to fight her?" Kirito asked worriedly. There was no way in hell he would even stand a chance against Ruby. She was way too fast and he doubted that he could get close.

"You need practice in actual combat." Tai pointed out "Besides it's either her or Yang and believe me. Ruby's fighting style is a lot less painful than Yang's" Tai chuckled

Kirito sighed. He knew there was no way in hell he was getting out of this "Fine. Just go easy on me ok Ruby" He pleaded.

The girl in red smirked at that. "Not a chance. Hope you're ready to get your butt kicked" She laughed

"No, but I probably should get ready" Kirito sighed.

The two then walked to opposing ends of the garden. Kirito sighed as he got into a stance. One that he had used quite often during his time in SAO and ALO whenever he dual-wielded.

He stood up straight. His left foot forward. He angled his right hand holding Elucidator, down behind him. His left hand holding Dark Repulser was raised in front of him.

Ruby watched Kirito as he got into stance. The way he looked caught the Red Reaper off guard. He looked so composed. Like he had practised this hundred's of times before. She could also sense something strange coming from him. Like he was radiating power. Not one to back down, however. Ruby unclipped Crescent Rose from its position on her back and unfolded it. The large mechanical scythe appearing in all its glory.

"Alright, Standard rules. First to drop their opponent's aura into the red wins. Is that clear?" Tai asked to which both Kirito and Ruby nodded. "Alright then Begin" Tai yelled

Almost as soon as Tai gave the go-ahead. Ruby burst into a swarm of flower petals and dashed towards Kirito. Kirito swords quickly began to glow as he began to charge a skill. Ruby closed in and slashed downwards at Kirito. Just as she did Kirito moved as well. Using Elucidator he slashed upwards to meet Ruby's attack, His swords glowing. The two weapons clashed as both combatants tried to gain ground. The metal of each of the weapons could be heard grinding against each other as they both tried to overpower the other.

Eventually releasing the power struggle between the two wasn't going to end anytime soon. Ruby dashed back using her semblance to attempt to distance herself. A smirk appeared on Kirito's face however as he stepped forward and slashed down with Dark Repulser as soon as she did this. Caught off guard Ruby barely managed to raise Crescent Rose to block the hit. The impact of the skill still knocked her back several feet though. The Reaper looked at Kirito surprised as he recovered from the skill.

Figuring a change in strategy was required Ruby once again used her semblance to Dash backwards. Realizing what she was attempting to do, Kirito ran forward. Trying to give her as little breathing room as possible. Ruby spun her scythe before planting the tip in the ground. She then aimed down the sight and pulled the trigger.

Kirito figured out what she was planning however as soon as he saw he plant the tip of the scythe in the ground. Time seemed to slow for the Swordsman as he continued to run towards Ruby. The shot barreled closer to him at incredible speeds. But just as it approached him. Just as it was about to hit him. The elucidator began to glow and Kirito slashed upwards with it. Deflecting the shot. Ruby was stunned at what she saw. No one had deflected shots from Crescent Rose before. Even the combat teacher at signal had opted to dodge them rather than try to deflect them.

Quickly getting over her shock. Ruby spun her scythe around and angled it behind her and down. She pulled the trigger and launched herself into the air. Kirito recognising the attack from their fight with Torchwick. Stopped his advance and angled both of his swords down behind him. As Ruby began to fall down. She raised her scythe above her head before slashing downwards. Kirito quickly crossed his swords as she did. Catching the tip of the blade between them stopping it inches from his forehead.

The weight of Ruby's scythe pushed down Heavily on Kirito. The swordsman dug his feet into the ground. Attempting to push back. Eventually, however, the familiar glow began to shine from his swords. Finding new strength from the skill. Kirito managed to push back against Ruby's attack. Ruby flipped backwards as she was pushed back through the air and managed to land on her feet.

Kirito then began to attempt to charge a skill to take advantage of Ruby's position. Ruby, having learned from the last skill he used, wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. While his skill was still charging, Ruby used her semblance to dash behind Kirito. She then slashed horizontally at Kirito's back, Knocking the boy a good few feet forward and off his feet. Luckily his aura shielded him from taking any serious damage from the hit.

Kirito went to get back on his feet but before he could. Ruby used her semblance to dash over to him and place her scythe to his neck. The barrel of Crescent Rose pointed at his head. Kirito took a second to realize what the hell just happened. He knew Ruby was fast but it still caught him off guard

"Alright I give, Your way to good for me" Kirito admitted

Ruby smirked as she withdrew her scythe and folded it back up and replaced it on her back. "You did great too though, For someone who just started, it's amazing that you were even able to keep up" She praised offering him and hand up which he gladly accepted.

"She's right," Tai added "For someone who's new to this your abilities are way above what they should be. Hell, I don't think I've ever seen someone cut through one of Ruby's shots like that." He explained

"You're exaggerating," Kirito told them embarrassed at the praise

"Dad's right," Ruby told him. "I think Ozpin was right to give you a shot at the entrance exam"

Kirito took a moment to ponder her words. Had he really done that well?. During the fight, it felt like Ruby truly had given it her all. So the fact that he had been able to land at least a couple solid hits gave him hope. So in his eyes, there was only one place to go from here.

"Hey Ruby," He said to the girl in red

"Hmm?" She asked concerned

A smirk appeared on the swordsman's face "You wanna go again?" He asked confidently.

A smile then appeared on the Red Reapers face. "If you're ready for me to kick your butt again, bring it on" she taunted.

Tai looked at the Swordsman and the Reaper as they each returned to their starting positions and redrew their weapons. "That kids got huge potential. He reminds me of Qrow back in the day" Tai thought to himself as he watched Kirito get into position.

"Woof!" Zwei let out a bark as he looked at Tai.

"Don't worry about it Zwei" Tai told the Corgi as he bent down to pet him. "Why don't we go and get dinner started? I don't think these two are gonna be done for a little while" Tai suggested as Kirito and Ruby began to spar again.

* * *

(One week later)

Kirito looked at himself in the mirror. He had to say he looked damn good. Yang definitely had a great sense of fashion. After all, she had helped him pick out his new outfit. He wore a black leather coat that went all the way down his back. One of the shoulders of the said coat was a light-grey. He had a few belts across the said coat that were coloured blue. In Fact, the whole coat had a blue outline which Kirito particularly liked. It was nice to wear something that wasn't all black for a change. He wore a pair of black fingerless gloves and a pair of black boots. Finally, he had two sheaths on his back. It was obvious what they were designed to hold.

A knock on the door caused Kirito to stop looking at himself as she turned to the door "Come on Kid, We gotta leave in five minutes" Tai called through the door.

"Uh right be out in a sec" Kirito called back. Realizing just how long he had spent getting ready.

Kirito walked over to the desk in the room. On which the two swords he had been training with for the last week lay. Elucidator and Dark Repulser. Two names which were both foreign yet nostalgic to him. They represented a lot. Most importantly, they represented the Kirito he used to be. The Black Swordsman. Kirito sighed. This would be his first real combat experience with them in years. That wasn't just sparring. He looked at the swords before saying one line. "Please, I need your help. One last time" He said. Almost as if he was talking to the swords. He then reached onto the desk and picked the swords up before sheathing them on his back. He was ready.

He then walked towards the door. Ready for the entrance exam and whatever else Remnant could throw at him.

* * *

(Three hours later, Edge of the Forest of Forever Fall)

After travelling by airship from Patch and returning to Vale. Kirito had arrived at the forest of Forever Fall, Accompanied by Yang and Tai. Ruby had wanted to come but she was visiting her friends at Signal one more time before leaving for good.

"So this is it?," Kirito asked

"Yup this is Forever Fall. The most dangerous forest in Vale." Yang told him

Dangerous?. Not from the looks of it. The forest itself looked beautiful. The leaves on trees were all different shades of reds,oranges and yellows creating an image which looked like it was straight out of an art piece. The view stunned Kirito. It was like the forest was in autumn while everywhere else was in summer. It was like nothing he had ever seen before.

"How is it dangerous? It looks so peaceful." Kirito asked.

"While it does look beautiful the place is infested with Grimm. It's estimated that there's thousands in there". Tai explained.

"And that's where I've got to fight through for this exam. Should be interesting" Kirito observed.

"Ah don't sweat it. Your good dude. You're able to match me and Ruby and you've only been training for one week" Yang said encouragingly. "Sure you still haven't beaten either of us but it's still way better than where I thought you'd be at"

"Thanks, Yang" Kirito nodded feeling slightly better about his odds. Though he was still nervous about the whole thing.

The three fell into a comfortable silence as they continued to walk towards the forest. Kirito was feeling confident. Well about as confident as he could be walking into a forest infested with evil monsters. He had trained every day with Ruby, Yang and Tai for the last week in preparation and had gotten a whole lot better at fighting. He even discovered skills he didn't know he had access to. He still maxed out at eight hit skills though as he hadn't been able to perform anything with more hits than that.

As they drew nearer the sight of students gathering outside the forest could be seen. Each with varying different emotions on their faces. A few of them stood out to Kirito. There was a boy with flax-brown hair wearing an outfit with a blue colour scheme who was looking cheerful who was talking to a blonde girl who was dressed in gold and had the appearance of a knight who had a serious expression on her face. Kirito's eyes were also drawn to a girl standing on her own reading a book. She had long black hair with a bow in it and looked impassive to the whole situation. Kirito then noticed Ozpin was also standing there. The man noticed him approaching and smiled.

"Well this is where me and Yang are gonna take our leave," Tai said quickly "Good luck Kid. Though I doubt you'll need it" He added putting a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder

"Yeah make sure you kick some butt and get into Beacon" Yang added

"Thanks, guys. I'll make sure to defeat some Grimm for you" Kirito smiled

He then walked away from the two and headed towards the group. The huntsmen and huntresses in-training seemed to notice his approach but didn't make any moves to interact with him.

"Ah Kirito, I'm glad you decided to come," Ozpin said with a smile on his face "I see that you are now more adequately equipped for what is to come"

"Yeah, you can thank Tai for that. He made sure that I would be prepared for whatever you threw at me" Kirito told him

Ozpin nodded at that "I see, however, there is only so much we can prepare for. This exam will test how prepared you truly are." Ozpin said cryptically. "Please. Join the others. Now that you have arrived I can explain what your task is"

Kirito followed his instructions and stood near the others taking the exam. Kirito had to wonder what the exam would entail. One thing was for sure, however. It would involve fighting and perhaps a lot of it.

"Welcome future students" Ozpin announced to all of them "This is the final entrance exam for Beacon academy. Meaning it is the final chance for you all to enter my school. As such this exam will be the toughest of all. Professor Goodwitch will now explain your task. But be warned this task is not for the faint of heart. Those who do not think they can handle it. Should leave now" Ozpin told them. There were a few murmurs among the crowd but none of them made a move to leave. "Very well" He nodded before stepping aside to allow Glynda to explain.

"Your test may sound easy but I assure you this task will test everything you have learned up to this point ." Glynda began "A creature of Grimm known as a Goliath has been seen moving through these forests" She explained

This caused the group to whisper to themselves excitedly. Kirito was also shocked at this. He had seen goliaths in some of the textbooks he had borrowed from Yang. They were giant creatures of Grimm that looked like elephants and were incredibly hard to defeat. Luckily many of them didn't care for attacking humans as they were far to wise.

"This Goliath is unlike others of it's kind. It has been acting out aggressively to anything that gets in its way. As such it is your job today to kill it" Glynda explained "The test will be split into phases. Tracking down the creature and then defeating it. The applicant's who deal the finishing blow to the beast will be allowed to enter beacon academy. Everyone else will fail. Is that clear '' Glynda asked receiving nods from all the students there.

Ozpin then stepped back up "Very well. The test will begin as soon as I give the go-ahead. But just know that in this test. Your own strength will not be enough. Sometimes you must rely on the strength of others to accomplish what you cannot on your own." The headmaster said cryptically.

"Is everything a damn cryptic message with this guy?" Kirito thought to himself

"If you are all ready, then you may now begin, I wish you the best of luck!" Ozpin called allowing the students to begin.

They all began to run into the forest in search of the creature. Kirito wasn't far behind. He was gonna be the one to kill this thing. He had to. If he was gonna find a way out of here. A way to return home to his friends and family he had to. He had so much to lose and he wasn't gonna go down without a fight.


End file.
